monthly newsletter of salem baptist church...
TRANSCRIPT
Inclement weather will be here before you know it, so with that in mind, please remember: WEATHER CHURCH CANCELLATION POLICY & NOTIFICATION If Spotsylvania County schools are closed then all activities are cancelled for the day. If the weather/roads are icy/snowy, we ask that you use caution if you decide to attend church activities. Please listen to WFLS (93.3 FM), WBQB (101.5) radio or channel 7 (ABC news) for updates on Sunday closings. Should activities be cancelled on a Sunday morning then activities that evening will be cancelled also. Go to www.salembc.com and cancellations will be posted.
CALLED TO SERVE AT SALEM Dale Seley, Pastor
Terry Blackburn-Parker, Minister of Connections Scot Davis, Minister to Families, Children & Youth
Tim Joines, 8:45am Worship Leader Beth Hoovler, 11:00am Worship Leader
Tracey Rembisz, Secretary Denise Smith, Finance Secretary
Brooke Johnson, Parish Nurse Rob Robbins, Soul Care/Counseling Ministry
Office Hours: Mon—Thurs 9am-3:30pm
Friday: 9am—1pm
REMINDER: If your address or email has changed, please don’t forget to let the church office know. We want to keep our records up to date. Call Tracey at 540.786.7320 or email her at the
office [email protected]
and let us know the current address.
Thanks!
Help us to be good stewards of our resources:
Recycle ink cartridges through
the office Recycle old cellphones
Get your newsletter online as opposed to printed copy
Give your offering through our online giving link instead of using
envelopes
Tel: 540.786.7320 Fax: 540.786-6463 www.salembc.com
3/3—S.W.I.F.T. at Ledo’s in Massaponax at noon
3/8—Happy Hands in FH
3/9—Micah Meal
3/13—DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS! Turn clocks forward
3/20—Prayer Shawl at 3PM
3/24—Maundy Thursday service in the sanctuary
3/25—Good Friday Service in the sanctuary
3/27—Easter Sunday
3/28—Youth Spring Break Mission trip
MARCH DATES TO REMEMBER:
COMING UP
Easter news!
Salem Connection MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH OF FREDERICKSBURG, INC.
MARCH 2016
March 24 Service at 6:30pm
in the Sanctuary
March 25 Service at 6:30pm in the Sanctuary
March 27
8:45am in the Family Life Center 11:00am in the Sanctuary
Join us for Holy Week services:
Thoughts from Dale…. In a previous newsletter, I shared this article entitled “Ways Churches drive away 1st time Guests.” I find these comments thought-provoking and wanted to share it with you again. Each of the 10 items has a comment shared by a guest resulting from their visit. 1. The congregation was old. “When I looked at the age of those attending, I knew there wouldn’t be anything there for my children.” 2. There was clutter everywhere. “The church building looked like a Goodwill store for Bibles, books, umbrellas, and clothes. I did not want to return.” 3. People were gathered in cliques talking to one another. “I could tell before the service that I didn’t belong to their club.” 4. People got the aisle seats first. “I had to climb over eight people to get a seat. They seemed disgusted I was there.” 5. There was inadequate signage for people with small children. “From the parking lot to the front door to the preschool area, I had no idea where to go. It was frustrating.” 6. There was no worship guide or bulletin. “I saved the bulletins from the churches I visited. If a church did not have one, I forgot all about it.” 7. The check-in process for children was slow and disorganized. “My kids were screaming the whole time; I’m not going back.” 8. There were memorial plaques everywhere. “They were on the pews, the tables, the organ, the piano, and the windows. It was creepy. I felt like I was in a funeral home.” 9. The service did not start on time. “My family rushed to get there on time, but the service started over ten minutes late. No one seemed to know what they were doing.” 10. People were saving seats. “They might as well had a sign that said, ‘You are not welcome near me.’” It is very easy to become “blind” to our behavior, the look of our buildings, etc. when we come and go from Salem on a regular basis. But, what about the 1st time guest? What is it like for them to come to Salem? I encourage you to take a few moments, read over these statements and ask yourself, “How are we doing at Salem? Is there something we could do better and/or differently that would ensure a pleasant and enjoyable experience for our guests?
Dale Seley, Pastor
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”
~Matthew 10:40
HISTORY
What happened to the furniture in Old Salem Church after New Salem opened for its first service on Easter Sunday, 1955? After I read a very interesting interview with seventy-eight year old Mrs. Sadie Lewis Landwehr, I was wondering about the furniture from Old Salem. Some of you may remember this lady. Her memories are recorded in the 1968 National Park Service Historic Structures Report for Salem Church. As she de-scribed her lifelong memories of Old Salem, she noted that the pews in the church were given to a nearby colored church, Mt. Zion, when Salem got new ones, but a few were kept for the gallery. The original church pews in Old Salem were damaged, burned, and destroyed during the Civil War. The current pews in there now are reproductions. I was told that John Orrock, born in 1909, remembered the very simply designed benches (pictured) as a youngster. I would speculate that as the church members gathered after the Civil War to revive the church, they constructed pews akin to the original ones. One such bench is stored at the Salem today, saved by
historically-minded Mike Hayden. As the years passed, the old church replaced the homemade pews with the more typical pews we see in churches today. Could some of these replacement pews be the ones passed on to Mt. Zion when Salem got new ones? I have been digging through the old Business Meeting minutes for any clues to answer my question. If you have any recollections about the pews from Old Salem Church, please contact me. I’ll have more to share next month.
~Janice Frye, Church Historian [email protected]
Our Deaf Mission has made a big change in our Worship Services! We are meeting together with the hearing church at 11:00 A.M. The service is interpreted for the deaf. We will continue to have our separate Deaf Sunday School, Deaf Thursday Bible Study, and Fredericksburg Happy Hands. From time to time we will have Deaf Worship Service for special events. Pictured on the left is Shelly Thompson, one of our interpreters.
We have also been getting ready for a Deaf Christian Bowling Tournament to be held in Frederick, MD. The team has been practicing on Saturdays to get ready. Last year we finished in fourth place, but this year we are hoping to go for the win.
UPWARD! We are still in need of devotion leaders and referees. Devotion leaders are needed for March 5 and March 19. Devotions need to be 5-8 minutes long and start at 9:30am each Saturday. The last time slot is 4:30pm. Referees are needed weekly for a few hours or for the entire day on March 5, 12 & 19. Questions? Contact Scot: [email protected]
Camp information
Children & Youth
Scot Davis, Minister to Families, Children & Youth
All camp information can be found on the bulletin board outside the youth room (#207)
SPRING BREAK MISSION TRIP! All are welcome! We’ll be participating in a week of ministry and service in Southwest Virginia. We leave on March 28 and travel to Nickelsville, VA. While there, we will be doing minor home repair, painting, landscaping and other projects. We travel home on April 1.
Trip cost is $30/person due by March 20. DEADLINE TO SIGN UP IS March 6. Team meeting on March 13 & 20, 7pm-8pm in room #207. Questions? Contact Scot: [email protected]
ROCK & WORSHIP ROADSHOW CHRISTIAN CONCERT! March 12—All are welcome to join the youth ministry for an amazing night of Christian music. The concert is at the John Paul Jones Arena on the campus of UVa. The featured artists are Newsboys, Jeremy Camp, Mandisa, Phil Wickham, Family Force 5, Audio Adrenaline, Danny Cokey, Citizen Way & Shaun Groves. Cost is $10 at the door. Van leaves Salem at 3:30pm. Questions? [email protected]
VBS WEEK! June 20-24—6pm-8pm
Volunteers needed for all areas! Contact
Ashley Reiber or Scot Davis to help:
[email protected] [email protected] KIDS FOR CHRIST CAMP!
July 11-15, 2016
G R O W
RIGHT NOW MEDIA offers Bible
studies for women, men. singles,
children and families. This online
Bible study resource has a wealth of
materials and videos that our church
subscribes to monthly. To learn more
and to view this product, please email
Terry to receive a log-in account:
Ladies Bible Study class has a new topic!
Terry Blackburn-Parker Minister of Connection
WORSHIP, GROW, SERVE
To become fully devoted Christ followers:
1) Regularly be in worship (8:45 or 11am)
2) Be in a Bible study grow group:
a) Sunday morning at 10am
b) Wednesday nights 6:15pm
c) Thursday morning 10:30am
3) Find a place to use your gifts & serve.
If I can help you connect, please call or
email me, Terry Blackburn-Parker
(540.786.7320 ext. 203 or
The Ladies Bible Study class meets at 10:00am on Sundays in the church library. Cathy
Clifton leads this class ([email protected]).
“Pulling the Thread” by Jen Hatmaker is their new topic. Some areas of focus they will be
discussing are:
1) What does following Jesus really mean?
2) How does following Jesus actually change everything?
3) What does it look like to follow God’s calling in my life?
S E R V E Wednesday, March 9. Leave Salem at 3:30pm Serve from 4-6:30pm at 1300 Augustine Ave (near the college). VOLUNTEERS are always welcome and appreciated! Questions? Virginia Snellings: 540.786.8629
GOOD NEW CLUB OUTREACH
Our outreach ministry to Salem Elementary will end with
our Easter Spring break. This year we have ministered to
50 children through our Good News Club ministry with
Freedom Church & Grace Church. We have shared Bible
stories, snacks & most importantly the message of how
much God loves them. Our last club session will be on
Tuesday, March 22.
Please pray that the seeds that have been planted will
grow to fruition and that these children & their families
will become fully devoted Christ followers.
THANK YOU! We served about 100 guests on a very cold night in February at our Micah Meal. That totaled over 183 meals because many asked for seconds & plates to go. We were so blessed to offer them warm gloves, socks & hats because of your generosity at Christmas. Everyone who came for food was not only fed but clothed in warm necessities!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Thanks for your ongoing generous support of our Food Pantry Ministry. For Souper Bowl Day of Caring on February 7 we collected $1350 & 300 lbs of food. On Sunday, February 21st, we collected $487 & several pounds of food. What a wonderful outpouring of support and love!
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY 20/20 CHALLENGE UPDATE!!
Thank you to all who supported our Habitat for Humanity 20/20 Challenge to help fund the building of a home. We raised $3200
from all the contributions that were given!
If your group did not complete the challenge, we will accept donations until April 1.
“For I was hungry and you gave
me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me some-
thing to drink, I was a stranger
and you invited me in”
~Matthew 25:35
CHURCH NEWS
EASTER OFFERING FOR
NORTH AMERICAN
MISSIONS
The focus begins March 6
with a week of prayer for
North American missionaries. This offering
will support “home” missionaries and the
work of sharing the life-transforming gospel
of Jesus through the US and Canada. One
hundred percent of the offering is used to
support missionaries and their work. In
1934 this offering was named the Annie
Armstrong Easter Offering in honor of her
work and devotion in supporting missions.
GOAL: $3,000
Recycle your empty ink cartridges!
Turn your empty ink cartridges into money for the church!
Bring them to the church office and we can get vouchers for office supplies. Collect them from your friends, family, and
co-workers too!
March 13, 2016
S.W.I.F.T. (Salem Women in Fellowship Together)
We are meeting 3/3 at noon at Ledo’s Pizza in Massaponax.
PRAYER SHAWL
We’ll meet at 3pm on 3/20 in room #115.
APRIL 22 & 23 Salem’s annual yard sale is coming! We will begin collecting items in April. Large items can be brought to the church no earlier than April 17th. Questions? Contact Virginia Snellings: 540.786.8629
CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED Monday, March 28th